The LOOP
The Saturday Loop - February 8, 2025
US CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS CUTS REFUGEE SERVICES STAFF
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops laid off about a third of its migrant and refugee services staff yesterday in the wake of a federal funding freeze. Catholic Relief Services meanwhile cut its workforce by nearly 50%. It had been getting about half its funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
SECRETARY RUBIO CUTS NEARLY 98% OF USAID WORKERS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week slashed the staff of USAID from an estimated 14,000 employees to just 294. “These are taxpayer dollars,” he said, “and we owe the American people the assurances that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest.”
NORTH CAROLINA BISHOPS REAFFIRM CHURCH TEACHING ON MIGRATION
The bishops of North Carolina issued a pastoral letter this week reaffirming the Church’s teaching on immigration. “We recognize there are persons residing in the United States without legal documentation and we do not condone violating the law,” the letter stated in part.
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HOUSE BILL WOULD STOP PRESIDENTS FROM BANNING FRACKING
The U.S. House passed a bill Friday to prevent future presidents from banning oil drilling without Congressional approval. Sixteen Democrats joined all voting Republicans in the 226-188 vote to pass the Protecting American Energy Production Act.
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CHALDEAN CLERGY LAUNCH ‘BIBLE IN A YEAR’ PODCAST
Inspired by the work of Father Mike Schmitz, a priest in the Michigan-based Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle has teamed up with his bishop to host a daily podcast for one year that offers reflections and insights on Scripture.
LOOPcast
Let’s take a breath and look at the AMAZING things Trump has been up to! Mercer’s back and comes out swinging on USAID. We talk anti-Christian discrimination, the return of girls’ sports, and book recs for all ages! All this and more on the!
REFINE
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WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF THE SUPER BOWL?
Ahead of Super Bowl LIX tomorrow, a new poll has discovered that most Americans say God doesn’t determine the winner of the game or care about the outcome.
SUPER BOWL COCKTAILS
Beer is a given at any Super Bowl party, but what about cocktails? Do cocktails even pair with football? They pair perfectly if you’re drinking a Mahomes Mule, a Jalen Julep, or a Fourth-Quarter Classic! Learn how to make those and more.
THE ‘ORDO AMORIS’ AND HALF TRUTHS
Vice President JD Vance recently invoked the ordo amoris (“order of love”) to explain his policy stances. “[Y]ou love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community…” But can’t this concept lead to an un-Catholic tribalism, favoritism, and division? Here’s how the ordo amoris works.
CATHOLIC 101
Modern life is full of busyness, noise, and distractions. Sometimes we get so harried that we have a hard time sitting in silence. Cardinal Robert Sarah has said: “Silence is ‘the most important human work’ and the best way to encounter the silent God.”
SAINT OF THE DAY
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869 in Sudan. Arab traders captured and sold her into slavery when she was very young. She suffered exceedingly until a kind master allowed her to go to school. Since slavery was illegal in Italy, Bakhita stayed there as a free woman and entered religious life. She was known for her smile and her holiness.
SATURDAY'S PSALM
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Psalm 23:1)
SATURDAY'S READINGS
Saturday's Mass readings.
SUNDAY’S PSALM
“In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.” (Psalm 138:1)
SUNDAY’S READINGS
Sunday's Mass readings.
ANSWER TO THE TRIVIA
Predella
HISTORY
In 1933, the first two faculty positions were created at Princeton’s Institute of Advanced Study: one went to Albert Einstein, and the other to the brilliant John von Neumann. Von Neumann was an agnostic who only converted to Catholicism to marry a Catholic woman. But when faced with his impending death, he summoned a priest and invoked Pascal’s Wager: better to risk believing in God than run the risk of not believing!